


Babysitting Duty

by futuristicjazzhands



Series: The Many Caregivers of Malcolm Bright [2]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Episode Related, Gen, Malcolm Bright Gets a Hug, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Sexual Age Play, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22773913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futuristicjazzhands/pseuds/futuristicjazzhands
Summary: Dani and Malcolm talk to Estime, Malcolm gets a face full of cocaine, Gil puts Dani on babysitting duty. None of them knew how accurate that term would be. Dani takes care of little Malcolm after his drug-induced panic attack.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell
Series: The Many Caregivers of Malcolm Bright [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633090
Comments: 5
Kudos: 86





	Babysitting Duty

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as purely platonic, so Dani has a lot of feelings for Malcolm, but not romantic ones. There's not really going to be any shipping in this series.

Dani watched Bright jump up on the couch and express unadulterated excitement for axes of all things, and thought her punishment was a little too fit for her crime. She didn’t listen to Gil and now she had the terrible responsibility of babysitting the person who _never_ listened to Gil. Or anyone for that matter. It was a taste of her own medicine, and Dani hated it. She didn’t hate Bright, but God was he a handful.  
  
Since they were obviously not going to throw axes or dance, especially when Malcolm was high out of his mind, Dani convinced him to go get cleaned up and in more comfortable clothes, and luckily he didn’t fight her on that. While he was gone, she looked through his kitchen to try and find something she could use to make a decent meal. There were some nearly full takeout containers, a few bottles of Perrier, an absurd amount of red licorice, some overripe apples and bananas, almost a full loaf bread, and the cheeses Malcolm had been so giddy about. Everything left in the refrigerator was well past the expiration date. It was pretty much what she expected from a man who claimed most food made him nauseous.  
  
As she was pulling everything out she’d need, Malcolm came out of the bathroom, face ashen, and sat against his bed. He was a little too far away, but Dani could tell he was breathing hard and out of focus. It wouldn’t surprise her if he had a bad reaction to the drugs, but it did make her nervous. She continued to butter the bread in front of her, but looked up and asked, “Bright? You good?” but it was like he didn’t hear her. He continued to stare ahead of him with wide eyes full of terror. His heavy breaths turned to strained pants, chest heaving. She could hear him whisper something, but couldn’t make out what. “Bright, you good?” she asked again with a little more urgency.  
  
Then he jolted and a fearful whimper. She was about to ask him once more when he shot up and dashed back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. She heard a clatter coming from the bathroom. She peeked over at the door and cautiously called out, “Bright? You okay?” She got no answer, so she abandoned her half-made grilled cheese sandwiches and knocked loudly against the door, “Bright?”  
  
Still no answer  
  
“Bright, if you don’t say something, I’m coming in,” Dani said, unable to hide the fear in her voice. When she heard a loud noise from the other side of the door, she burst into the bathroom, “Bright!”  
  
She felt a swirl of fear and sorrow and sympathy when she found Malcolm still dressed and huddled in the corner of his shower, his face drained of all color and damp with sweat, trembling like a leaf in a violent hurricane. His blue eyes were wide, unfocused, and to Dani’s horror, filled with tears ready to fall any second. He was breathing like there was no air left in the room, gasping and choking and crying out like something was trying to kill him. Dani couldn’t help but be reminded of their first case, when Malcolm had a nightmare in the precinct, how panicked and frenzied he’d been. How could anyone live with so much fear all the time, she wondered. It broke her heart. No one deserved a life like that.

  
“Bright! Hey, hey, _breathe_ , okay?” She said, voice barely above a whisper. She crouched down but hesitated to touch him or approach too quickly. He was still and quiet other than his feeble, frantic attempts to loosen the tie around his neck. Still, she didn’t want to risk startling him into violence. She kept a little distance between them as she tried to talk him down “Hey, c’mon, look at me. You’re safe, just a bit high, remember? Do you know what day it is? Where you are? Or what my name is?” Grounding questions were supposed to help people having panic attacks, right?  
  
Even though she had training for dealing with frightened and skittish people, she couldn’t quite remember what she needed to do. When the frightened, skittish person was someone she cared for, suddenly that training meant nothing. She felt her own fear growing when Malcolm just continued to shake and wheeze. Although Malcolm looked up at her, eyes bloodshot and tears clinging to his eyelashes, he didn’t answer her question or even speak at all. “C’mon, Malcolm, can you answer me?”  
  
Malcolm whimpered softly, shook his head, and to Dani’s surprise, stuck his thumb in his mouth and continued to hyperventilate through his nose. She watched in confused fascination as he sucked on the digit, his pointer finger curled around the bridge of his nose and slowly stroking his cheek. His other hand abandoned his tie in favor of hugging himself. He looked so starved for comfort, Dani had to push away the urge to reach out and grab him into a hug. Instead, she pulled out her phone and dialed the resident Malcolm Bright expert.  
  
Gil answered quickly, “Powell, can you not handle babysitting Bright on your own?” He clearly was still a little pissed off about Dani going rogue, which made Dani flinch a bit. Though she had no regrets about going to see Estimé, being in Gil’s bad graces was something she tried to avoid when possible. She was by no means afraid of his wrath, but she hated disappointing him.  
  
She couldn’t worry about that right now, though. She had far more pressing matters to deal with. She watched as Malcolm began to rock back and forth, staring at the mirror in horror. Her stomach sank when she noticed the tears in his eyes had started to streak down his face. “Something’s not right. With Bright. I’ve never seen him act like this,” Dani spoke fast, not at all like her usual calm and collected tone. She sounded scared.  
  
That instantly clued Gil in and he realized whatever was going on was not typical Bright antics. All anger about the night’s events flew away and Gil felt himself switching into full-on Father Mode. “What’s the matter?”  
  
She looked back at the small figure on the floor and saw him still staring at the mirror with a haunted expression like a ghost was on the other side of the glass. She peered in the direction of his gaze but saw only the reflection of the shower. What was it that scared him so badly?  
  
Remembering the phone in her hand, she snapped out of her thoughts and said, “He had a panic attack, I think. He’s crying and he won’t talk and… and he’s sucking his thumb. I don’t know how to help him.” She was no amateur when it came to working with upset people, people with trauma, but this felt different. This was Bright and she didn’t want to do anything that might make things worse or hurt him.  
  
She heard Gil sigh on the other side of the phone, but couldn’t quite make out if he was frustrated or relieved or tired. Gil’s voice seemed calmer when he said, “Okay, Dani, I’m going to explain something to you, but you need to keep an open mind and remember this is about helping Malcolm, alright?”  
  
“Okay, what is it?”  
  
“Sometimes, when Malcolm is overwhelmed, too scared or sad, he… reverts to a more childlike state of mind to feel safer,” Gil explained tentatively, like he wasn’t sure if he could really trust Dani with such sensitive information. Still, he continued with the hope that Dani cared for Malcolm enough to accept that side of him, “It’s called age regression and it’s usually really therapeutic for him. I’m sure you have plenty of questions about it, but they’ll have to wait for another time. Right now, you should focus on helping Malcolm.”  
  
“What do I do? He’s so out of it right now.”  
  
“He’ll calm down, you just need to treat him like a little kid. Y’know, take care of him, give him his pacifier and teddy bear, speak low and soft like he’s actually a toddler. When he’s regressed, he basically is one.” Gil tried to make it sound simple without making it prone to misunderstanding. The last thing he wanted was for Dani to get the wrong kind of picture of Malcolm’s regression.  
  
Dani defied all of his expectations though, because instead of asking questions or even resisting the idea of treating a grown man like a small child, she joked, “So I guess I really am babysitting tonight, huh?”  
  
A short but genuine laugh escaped Gil. Maybe this would be good for Malcolm, to have someone else know about a different side of him. Lord only knows he needs to trust more, make friends that truly care about him. He gave Dani some more advice, “In the back of his closet is a box of his things. There’s not much in there, but hopefully enough to keep him entertained until he crashes.”  
  
“Got it. Anything else?”  
  
“Just… be gentle with him, alright? After a panic attack, he’s probably going to act pretty young. Oh, and make sure he eats some real food. No licorice, even if he gives you his damn puppy dog eyes. Use the sippy cup or he will spill. And put him to bed after dinner.” She heard him curse to himself, then he spoke again, “Look, I’ve gotta get back to work, but call me if you need anything,” Gil said, and Dani felt like she was talking to an overprotective dad leaving his kid with a new babysitter. She knew that Gil had known Malcolm since he was a child – or an actual child – but now knowing this facet of their relationship existed, she knew that Gil wasn’t just his father figure. Gil was Malcolm’s real father; Fuck Martin Whitly.  
  
“I’ll take care of him, I promise,” Dani told him before exchanging their goodbyes and hanging up. She touched Malcolm’s knee to get his attention. He was still breathing kind of ragged and had his thumb firmly lodged between his lips, but he didn’t seem to be as lost in the panic as he had been a few moments ago. She waited until she caught his eyes, then said, “I’m going to get some of your things, then I’ll be right back.”  
  
She wasn’t sure if any of that actually got through to Malcolm as he made no sign of hearing a word she said, so she just went to find the box Gil spoke of as quickly as she could. In the back of his closet, she found a box and dragged it out into the main room. There were a few toys, a couple with price tags still on them, unused, and some sippy cups and storybooks. Ignoring them, she just grabbed a blue pacifier that was far too big for a real baby’s mouth as well as the teddy bear Gil had mentioned. She hurried back to Malcolm, who was breathing easier, but still seemed far away from reality, like he was stuck in his head. She spoke as she came near, “Hey, Malcolm, I’m back. And I’ve got a couple of things I think you might like.”  
  
Malcolm turned towards her but didn’t look up. Not completely unresponsive, so Dani would take that as progress. She took Malcolm’s wrist and gingerly tugged his thumb out so she could replace it with the pacifier. Malcolm took it eagerly and went to wrap his newly freed arm around himself, but Dani stopped him and pressed the teddy bear into his hand, “Here, take this too. A friend of yours, right?”  
  
Malcolm let out a strained whimper as he hugged the bear to his stomach, his knuckles blanched with the strain of how tightly he held onto the soft fabric. Dani was struck by how much Malcolm resembled a small child, by how natural it felt to treat him as such. She’d nearly forgotten that he was a fully grown man. Even when he was his normal adult self, there was just something about Malcolm that made the people around him want to take care of him. With him acting so young and vulnerable, that feeling was amplified tenfold. Dani almost wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and protect him from everything.  
  
Instead, she sat next to him and let him lean against her side, sinking further and further as panic lifted and exhaustion took its place. There was no way he’d come down completely from the high yet, but his panic attack had been tiring enough to make him less likely to go bouncing off the walls like he had been when they arrived at the apartment. When his breathing came steadier, Dani decided it was time to get off the bathroom floor and offered her hand to Malcolm, “C’mon, we should get you in your pajamas.”  
  
Malcolm let her pull him up to his feet, holding onto him until he was somewhat balanced. She gave him a quick once-over before heading out of the bathroom. Malcolm silently trailed after her as she went to search his drawers for some suitable pajamas. He still hadn’t spoken since the attack. She was beginning to wonder when he would say something. Just a little while ago it seemed like all of his thoughts were pouring out of his mouth, but now it was like someone had hit his mute button.  
  
After a little rummaging, she found a set of blue flannel pajamas. They felt incredibly soft and warm, definitely more expensive than Dani could afford. She turned back to Malcolm, who was shifting from foot to foot and rubbing at his teddy’s fur to self-soothe, and blushed when she realized she was going to have to help him get dressed. After taking a deep breath, she set the pajamas on the bed and gestured for Malcolm to come closer, “Can you put your bear down so you can get changed? Just for a minute.”  
  
Malcolm pouted but agreed without a fuss. He squirmed as Dani took off his tie, vest, and belt, but she managed to still make quick work of it. After he was just down to his underwear, she held open the pajama pants, Malcolm’s hand on her shoulder to keep himself steady as he stepped into them. Once she pulled them up to his waist and buttoned up the short for him, she found that it hadn’t been as awkward as she feared. In fact, it hadn’t really been awkward at all.  
  
“Let’s get you something to eat now, okay?”  
  
Malcolm seemed indifferent to the idea of food, but let Dani lead him into the kitchen anyway, one hand in Dani’s and the other holding Theodore close. She figured after the panic attack and with the cocaine still in his system, he could use some water so she dug a sippy cup out of the box and filled it for him. He took it and removed his pacifier only for a moment to guzzle down some of the icy water, then stuck it right back in. As she went back to the counter to continue with the grilled cheese, Dani noticed Malcolm hovering on the other side, looking lost and unsure. Dani frowned, “Um, do you want to play with something while I finish our sandwiches?”  
  
“Mmhmm,” Malcolm simply hummed around the pacifier so he wouldn’t have to relinquish it again.  
  
When he made no effort to go over and get something from his box, she grabbed it and brought it into the kitchen. There weren’t very many toys, not as many as she’d expect a rich kid like Malcolm to have, but surely there’d be something engaging enough for him. “How about this puzzle?” She pulled out an unopened and very colorful box for a simple puzzle of a puppy. That would be stimulating enough for his overactive mind, she thought, at least long enough for her to finish making the grilled cheese sandwiches.  
  
Malcolm nodded and climbed clumsily up onto one of the barstools, tucking his legs under him so he could sit on his knees. Once Dani poured out the pieces on the counter in front of him, he set to work sorting through them. Dani watched him as she cooked and found herself smiling fondly when she saw his brow furrowed in deep concentration and his pacifier bobbing against his lips. She wondered about the details of Malcolm’s regression, how involved Gil was, how often Malcolm got this way. Was he always so quiet? Was she doing a good job looking after him? Would he feel weird around her after this? By the time she had nearly finished the last sandwich, her thoughts had wandered so far that she startled when Malcolm finally spoke up.  
  
“Dani?” Malcolm’s voice was soft and higher-pitched than usual, less confident but not as on edge. Even his pronunciation, which was typically perfect, was rough around the edges. He sounded more like a child than Dani thought was possible.  
  
She turned the stove off and turned towards him, “What’s up, buddy?”  
  
“Done!” He announced proudly, pointing down at the completed puzzle. He wore a huge grin around his pacifier and looked so genuinely happy to show Dani the result of his hard work on the sixty piece puzzle. Dani couldn’t help but smile in response. How could he be so damn cute?  
  
Leaving the sandwiches to cool for a minute, she walked around the island to stand next to Malcolm. She took a good, long look at the puzzle, nodding thoughtfully as if contemplating a masterpiece hanging in a museum. Then she smiled and praised him, “Great job. You did it so fast!”  
  
Malcolm beamed, and Dani felt a swell of warmth in her chest. Seeing Malcolm smile so sincerely, with such innocence in his eyes, was a stark contrast to how he usually hid behind fake smiles and reassurances. Now she understood what Gil meant when he said it was therapeutic. It meant a lot to her that she was able to experience little Malcolm, too see him happy and safe, more than she would admit to anyone. She tousled his hair affectionately and said, “I’m proud of you.”  
  
To her surprise, Malcolm flung himself against her in a hug, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Dani recovered quickly from her shock and hugged him back. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. They hadn’t known each other for that long, but Malcolm trusted Dani more than ever after this. His trust was well placed because she said exactly what he needed to hear, “You’re such a good kid, Malcolm. You’re going to be okay.”  
  
He believed her.  
  



End file.
